1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus for playing an opponent type game, in which pictures of opposing characters appear on the left side and the right side of a display screen respectively.
2. Description of the Related Art
In patent document 1, a game apparatus is proposed that is named barcode battler.
The game apparatus provides an optical device to read a barcode having numerical data by an optical method, where the barcode is recorded on a card for a player. The game allows players of an offense side and a defense side to compete in the game based on win-loss results determined by numerical data.
As such an opponent type game converting external information on a barcode or the like into information (indicating a parameter of the fighting ability of the character) on the power of the offense and defense of a character chosen by a player according to a predetermined procedure, it has been recently proposed to use “TOC (Table of Contents) data of CD (Compact Disc)” in patent document 2, “remote control code of television or video sets” of patent document 3, and “information about a character, such as identification information and personality information on a character stored in a recording medium called a playing card” of patent document 4.
By using such external information instead of a barcode, it may be more enjoyable for a player to play a game.
However, the game devices shown in the documents 1-4 only use pre-existing external information, such as “TOC (Table of Contents) data of CD (Compact Disc)”, “remote control code of television or video sets”, and “information of a character, such as identification information and personality information of a character stored in a recording medium called a playing card”, the information being converted into the battle parameters (indicating a parameter of the fighting ability of the character) of a character chosen by a player (user), so that creative activity of a player is limited to how to choose the external information of the predetermined characters and the pre-existing information.
For providing more creative activity than the opponent games shown in the patent documents 1-4, another opponent game allows utilizing a picture on a paper or the like drawn by a player (user), in which the feature of the character is used as battle parameters of the character.
Patent document 1 Japanese Examined Patent Application Publication No. 05-30475
Patent document 2 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 06-79061
Patent document 3 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 07-323154
Patent document 4 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-334021
However, for an “opponent type game that displays matching characters on a screen”, the characters shown on the left side screen and the right side screen may not face each other in a front view of the display for a player, since characters have been drawn by players (users) with no limitation.
For example, it is reported by the Japan Cognitive Science Society about “drawing fishes” that a statistical result shows that approximately 80%-90% of the examinees draw their fishes heading to the left side (“left heading” fish was drawn). It is known that people tend to draw left heading objects when they draw moving objects such as characters on a paper sheet. Therefore the drawn objects tend to be headed for the left side.
When applying the above result to characters drawn by players (users), it would be highly likely for two opponent characters drawn by players (users) to be heading to the left side on the game screen when opponent character pictures are displayed on the left area and the right area of the display region on the display screen.
As a result, the characters displayed may be shown to the players (users) on the left side and right side areas of the display region on the display screen with unnatural (inappropriate) heading directions, and the players (users) may be given an uncomfortable feeling.
By considering the above issue, the present invention may provide an information processing device, information processing method, an information processing program, and a recording medium on which an information processing program is recorded that can reduce the likelihood of opponent characters headed in unnatural directions for opponent type games that shows opponent characters on the display screen.